Canadian canola seed is being sold into China, but at a much reduced pace compared to one year ago.

“There is seed going to China,” said Jim Everson, president of the Canola Council of Canada. “It is what I would say roughly about a quarter of what we would normally expect. Any trade there is a welcome development for our canola value chain.”

Prices are still lower than one year ago, but additional Canadian seed is being sold to the European Union to make biodiesel. The United Arab Emirates are also buying more Canadian canola to crush and then selling the oil to other countries, including China.

Viterra and Richardson are not allowed to sell canola into China. Their export licenses were suspended early this year. The Chinese government claims there was a ”quality” issue, but have yet to produce any scientific evidence. Smaller companies have been able to make some sales into China.

“We would like to see more of that, but clearly in order to return the situation to where we think it should be, we need to resolve the issues and we need to make sure those two companies and all our exporters have access to the Chinese market,” said Everson.

Many believe the canola trade issues revolve around the detention of a senior Huawei executive in Vancouver one year ago. Meng Wanzhou was detained at the request of the U.S. government. The Chinese government is upset with Canada’s role.

Everson’s interview is here.